Field crews, team work at fever pitch to prepare for Gamecocks baseball opener

South Carolina's opening game in the 2014 baseball season may have been postponed due to the recent snow storm, but head coach Chad Holbrook says his team is raring to go for Saturday's double header opener.

The weather forced the team inside for most of the week for practice, but that's not a problem, according to Holbrook.

"Well, you know, it's not ideal, but our guys, we've gotten our work in," said Holbrook. "Bucknell's been snowed on a lot harder than we've been snowed on. They've probably been inside a lot longer than we have, so I don't know if we're at a disadvantage due to the recent snow storm. Heck, everybody's had bad weather in these parts, but we're ready to go."

Even the players have been getting a little cabin fever waiting for their season to start.

"Obviously it's been a wild week with weather and everything. I can walk to the stadium, so I've been over here a few times to hit off the tee and do a few flips, but I'm excited for tomorrow and we're ready to go," said sophomore infielder Max Schrock.

Junior infielder Joey Pankake says the team still got their swings in and focused on plenty of the fundamental things during the "pretty wild" weather.

"I hope the weather gets better in this next couple of weeks. It's been a wild week here in Columbia. I haven't seen it like this since I've been here. It's been really wild," said Pankake.

The Gamecocks would have opened their season on Friday with a three-game series against Bucknell, but the university made the decision to move the opener.

It appears to have been the right move. On Friday, even though a tarp covered the field and the lush green grass, a layer of snow and ice blanketed the tarp.

Field crews have been working at a fever pitch to have the field ready in time for Saturday's opener.